Protecting you
by asymmetric implosion
Summary: Naruto protected Sakura since they were children.  Will her chance to protect him ruin their relationship?  NaruSaku One-shot.


Naruto sat quietly as the medic nin wrapped his ribs. This wasn't the first time he had broken ribs and it probably wouldn't be the last.

"Take a deep breath for me, Uzumaki-sama," said the brunette male.

Naruto inhaled deeply only to have a sharp pain tare across his chest. He grimaced until the pain returned to a dull throb.

"Thank you. The bindings are tight enough to support your ribs and let you breath. If the bindings start to feel loose, please come to the hospital or ask Sakura-sama to tighten them."

Naruto nodded. He'd be coming to the hospital. Sakura was never around to ask for help.

"Please remain here until I complete your paperwork for release and Shizune-san signs it. I am prescribing a mild sedative to help you sleep."

The blonde nodded again and thanked the medic. This medic nin treated him a few times in the past. He was matter of fact, but Naruto liked him. He didn't fuss or yell. He'd explain the situation in a neutral tone and get on with treatment. The injured patient wasn't forced to dodge clip board strikes and slaps before he was healed. The medic nin left the room and Naruto relaxed. If his farce of a marriage was worth anything, it kept Sakura from treating him. Tsunade forbid couples from treating each other unless the circumstances were dire.

The blonde's head sank to his chest. He never should have accepted her father's offer. Given their relationship at the time, it seemed like she would accept. Instead, he'd been stuck in a loveless marriage for nearly six months. Given the accelerated nature of their relationship he didn't expect a mind blowing wedding night. He would never force her into sex. He craved her contact but it would be consensual. His childhood was filled with separation from people. No one would touch him unless they were mistreating him. He wanted her contact to be gentle and loving. The occasional hug or a squeeze of the hand when he was having a bad day would have been enough but she denied him physical contact.

A light knock on the door forced him to look up. The outline of the figure told him who it was. He didn't want to speak with her right now. If she didn't care enough when everything was fine the last thing he wanted was mock sympathy to keep up appearances. She entered despite his silence which was against the protocols of the hospital. His gaze was icy when she met his eyes. She looked down immediately.

"How are you?" she asked.

He wanted to scream at her but his ribs would torment him.

"Fine," he replied coldly.

The worst was her betrayal. He didn't understand until she showed up at the bar after the explosion. The cloak and mask were supposed to hide her identity but he knew her. He could find her in a crowd without any problems. The time they spent together on missions made her stand out in any situation.

"Naruto," she pleaded.

"Was marrying me part of your mission?" he asked.

Sakura looked away. He knew she couldn't answer. ANBU missions weren't to be discussed without the Hokage's permission.

"I understand why you are so touchy about your body now. If I saw your tattoo I would have known something was going on and it probably would have ruined everything."

The rosette looked ready to explode. She started to open her mouth when the door opened again. Tsunade walked in and closed the door behind her. His glare focused on the blonde woman.

"I thought you knew better than to assign missions like this," said the sage.

He slid off the exam table. Tsunade shook her head slightly. He could feel her temper building. That was his goal. He wanted her livid so she'd blurt out what was going on.

"I guess you are getting senile in your old age," he added.

The blonde male picked up his shredded shirt. He inspected if before throwing it into the trash can in the room. Sakura reached into her weapon's pouch and pulled out a scroll. He snatched it from her. After unsealing a shirt, he put it on. Sakura tried to help but he pulled away. Dressing with broken ribs was painful at best. When he finished, Naruto made a hand sign.

"Where do you think you're going?" growled the Hokage.

Naruto looked at her.

"Home to rest. Sakura can pack up her things whenever. I'll sign the annulment papers in a couple days. She can get back to her life now that the assassin is dead."

The blonde male focused his chakra again.

"Naruto," pleaded the rosette.

"What?" he growled at her. "What do you want now? First you have some secret mission and marry me to complete it. The whole time you refuse to speak with me, touch me or look me in the eye."

The sage shook his head.

"I guess it doesn't matter now," he said before vanishing.

He appeared in the basement of his family home. Two trident kunai were hanging above him. After fighting his way up the stairs, he made it to his room. If he could sleep, he'd wake feeling better in the morning. Well, his ribs would feel better anyway. Naruto fidgeted and adjusted until he found a comfortable spot. He took as deep a breath as he could without hurting his ribs and released it. His eyes were starting to get heavy when he heard the front door open. He hoped she was going to wait until morning to yell at him. The door to his room opened a minute later.

"Go away," said the blonde. "I need to rest."

Sakura slammed the door and turned on the lights.

"If you ever," she started before he cut her off.

"Go away. I'm not interested."

"I was protecting you," she roared.

He sat up and looked at her.

"Do you think I liked this? Do you think I wanted to act like an ice queen?"

His jaw dropped open.

"Now…now you know how frustrating it is to sit back and let someone else protect you for once."

He tried to speak but she cut him off. Tears were flowing down her cheeks.

"Shishou offered me a chance to protect my most precious person and I took it. I couldn't trust anyone else to keep you safe. I know I hurt you and I hope you will forgive me one day, but I would rather see you alive and angry with me than dead."

The rosette took a deep breath.

"I'll pack up my things in the morning," she said before turning to leave.

She made it to the door when he called to her. She stopped but didn't look back.

"Do you love me?" he asked.

Sakura looked over her shoulder toward him.

"Yes."

"Then come to bed," he said.

She turned and gawked at him.

"Naruto," she said in a warning tone.

"If you love me I assume you want to remain married. If you want to stay married to me, get in bed."

He lied back down and stared at the ceiling. She stood in silence staring at him.

"Well," he said.

Sakura turned off the light. He heard her walking toward the bed. She climbed into the bed a moment later. She moved toward him and climbed on top of him.

"I hope you know that I'm doing this because I believe in the long run this will make our relationship better but I can't believe you'd demand that I do this."

She moved toward his lips and lowered her body onto him as much as she felt was safe for his ribs.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"What you wanted," she replied not far from his lips.

Naruto moved his hands to her waist to move her to discover she was naked. He yelled.

"Why are you naked?"

She moved off of him.

"Because when a man tells his wife to 'get into bed' it's pretty clear what he wants," she yelled back.

Naruto sighed.

"OK. I wanted you to come to bed but I didn't mean get naked."

He rolled away from her.

"Please get dressed," he said.

"Wait, so I'm offering myself to you and you're rejecting me," she roared.

A slight growl came from his lips.

"My ribs are busted up and I'm angry with you. This isn't how I want our first time to be."

Sakura nodded in the dark as she dressed.

"Naruto," she said apologetically as she crawled into bed.

She reached out and touched his arm. He tensed at the moment of contact but quickly relaxed. She lied silently after feeling his reaction. Her hand was still in contact with his arm. She felt his body shake and small whimpers from him a few moments later.

"What's wrong?" she asked with concern.

He sniffed and she knew he was crying.

"Nothing," he replied trying not to let his emotions control his voice.

"I'm sorry," she said again. "I'm sorry I denied you the one thing you wanted the most."

She heard a small sigh, but he didn't respond. Sakura moved closer to her husband. She'd be a proper wife to him now. When they were alone she was going to be in nearly constant contact with him. Her silent support was what he needed the most and she could show it so easily. Naruto was a simple man and this simple thing was all he needed.


End file.
